Protest against lack of services
HUNDREDS of people marked Human Rights Day by converging on the Sea Point Promenade, in defiance of Covid-19 regulations, to protest the lack of services by the City.
The protesters, who came from informal settlements in Khayelitsha, Delft and Kraaifontein, claimed they have been deprived of access to water and sanitation.
The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) said 10 years had passed and informal settlements across Khayelitsha were still without access to basic services.
It said residents of informal settlements across approached it assistance to get the City to fulfil its constitutional obligation of providing access to basic services in poor communities.
It made no sense for people living in informal settlements to celebrate Human Rights Day when they stood a chance of dying while going to toilets in the settlements, SJC director Mandisa Dantyi said.
“Our government, whether at a local or national government, has no plan for informal settlements on the question of basic service delivery and how it should be addressed. We understand the argument of the City when they say these people occupy private land, but we should also understand the housing crisis, add to that the economic crisis that we have found ourselves in.
“The fact that people occupy vacant land does not absolve the City from its responsibility to provide basic services. If we profess everyday that South Africa belongs to all, and that we are this country that is celebrated internationally to have the most progressive Constitution, we would like for that progressive Constitution to translate into everyday experiences,” she said.
Sibane Park, Khayelitsha, activist Ellen Mponzo said a lack of basic services by the City has resulted in communities opting for inhumane alternatives.
Mponzo said accessing toilets in informal settlements at night was a dangerous experience for women.
“Last week, I almost got raped while trying to access a toilet at night, and I was lucky I got away, but, unfortunately, a lot of other women do not escape. Meanwhile, other communities walk long distances trying to access toilets and water. To us, the celebration of this day bears no meaning for as long, as we live in squalor with no regard for our rights,” she said.
Mayoral member for waste and water Xanthea Limberg said the City continued to provide basic water and sanitation services to informal settlements across the city.
Limberg said providing services was a challenge when, due to unlawful occupation, residents settled on land unsuitable for the installation of such services.
“The City is also not allowed to install services on privately-owned land without permission, and in these instances can only install services on the periphery, on City-owned land,” she said.